The Return Of The Exiled Villain

The cafeteria of Gloria Academy was as lively as ever, but the mood at the usual large round table near the windows was noticeably subdued.

Lyra poked at her salad with little enthusiasm; her usual bright energy dimmed.

Maelis sat beside her, quietly staring at her plate. Adrian, Leon, Selina, Claire, Ronan, and Lira completed the group.

Ronan was the first to speak, swallowing a big bite before talking.

"So… Gray really transferred because of that, huh?" he said, scratching his head.

"He went into deep meditation for months, missed all the final exams, and Headmistress Gloria wouldn't let him take late ones or skip the year. Meanwhile, Clementine's Headmistress just straight up offered to put him in the second year immediately."

"Yeah… That's exactly what happened. Gloria was super strict about it. No exceptions. I tried talking to her too, but she wouldn't budge," Maelis sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

Lyra's expression darkened slightly as she gripped her fork a little tighter.

"She could've made an exception," she muttered. "He's clearly talented enough. But she forced him to either repeat the year or leave."

"Clementine's Headmistress took full advantage of that. She offered him a direct spot in the second year without any hassle. Smart move on her part." Adrian nodded slowly.

"Can't blame Gray for accepting. Who would want to waste an entire year repeating stuff he already knows? Clementine's academy is probably a better fit for him now anyway." Selina leaned back in her chair, twirling her dark blue ponytail.

"Still… it feels sudden. One day, he's been gone for five months, the next he's gone to another academy," Claire looked a bit worried, speaking softly.

Ronan grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

"But hey! At least we'll get to fight him in the inter-academy competition! Gloria Academy versus Clementine's Sword & Magic Academy, Gray on the other side! That's gonna be epic!"

"Don't remind me. I don't want to fight my big brother…" Maelis groaned, furrowing her eyebrows.

At those words, Ronan, who had been unusually quiet for the past SECOND, suddenly perked up as if remembering something exciting.

He leaned forward with wide eyes, nearly knocking over his drink.

"Oh! Speaking of the competition... did you guys hear about the new students? The entrance exam this year was held way earlier than usual. Like, super early. They already finished accepting the new first-years."

Selina quickly cut in, twirling her dark blue ponytail as she explained.

"It's because of the inter-academy competition, obviously. All the big academies are doing it. They want to scout and nurture talented freshmen early so they can prepare them properly before the event starts. Makes sense, they don't want to get embarrassed like last year."

Ronan nodded eagerly, slamming his hand on the table.

"Yeah, yeah! And there were three freshmen who stood out like crazy this time!"

He held up three fingers dramatically.

"First one was some guy named Kairos. He has the Phoenix Flame bloodline! And he's already at the Peak of the Master Realm. Peak! He's on another level!"

"Peak Master Realm as a freshman…? That's insane." Maelis blinked.

"Second one," Ronan continued, getting more excited.

"...Is this brute named Garrick. No fancy bloodline or anything. He's just… ridiculously strong physically. Like, monster strong. He won all his entrance battles without using any mana or skills, just pure body strength. He literally punched through reinforced barriers like they were paper."

"Pure physical strength? That's rare." Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"That's quite rare indeed," he admitted, leaning forward with more interest than before.

"And the third one…" Ronan's voice dropped a little, his expression turning serious for once.

"She's the scariest. Her name's Elara. No known origins... probably a commoner or an orphan. No famous family, no powerful background. But during the entrance exam… no one could even touch her."

He leaned in closer, lowering his voice like he was telling a ghost story.

"Doesn't matter what kind of attack they threw at her, spells, weapons, punches, everything missed. Like she was slipping through reality or something. Some people are saying she has some kind of strange spatial or illusion power. The instructors were stunned."

The table fell into complete silence at those words.

"Three monsters in one year… This competition is going to be brutal," Selina whistled.

Adrian, who had been quietly listening while sipping his drink, suddenly straightened up. His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the hallway visible through the large cafeteria windows.

"Hey… isn't that Cassandra?" he said, raising his hand slightly.

The group turned their heads.

Sure enough, Cassandra was walking down the hallway just outside. But instead of her usual Gloria Academy uniform, she was wearing casual clothes, a simple white blouse, dark pants, and a light coat, with a small bag slung over her shoulder. She looked like she was ready to leave for a long trip.

"Cassandra!" Adrian waved at her with a friendly smile.

She didn't even glance in their direction. Her steps didn't falter as she continued walking, eventually disappearing around the corner.

The table exchanged confused looks.

Before anyone could comment, murmurs started spreading from nearby tables, growing louder as more students noticed.

"Cassandra's still here?"

"She must have been packing her stuff…"

"I can't believe we lost two extremely talented students in the span of just a few days! First Gray… and now Cassandra."

"Yo, I heard she's actually switching academies just like Gray. Maybe she got an unrefusable offer?"

The group at the table immediately reacted.

"Cassandra, too? Seriously?" Maelis blinked in surprise.

Selina leaned forward, raising an eyebrow.

"Wait, she's transferring? I thought she was one of the most loyal students here. She always talked about how much she loved Gloria Academy."

"That's strange. Didn't she say anything to anyone? Not even a goodbye?" Adrian frowned, still staring at the hallway where she had disappeared.

"First Gray leaves because Gloria wouldn't let him skip the year, and now Cassandra? What's going on? Is everyone suddenly jumping ship?" Ronan scratched his head, looking genuinely shocked.

Lyra, who had been quietly clinging to the memory of Gray, finally spoke.

"If she's leaving too… then Clementine's Headmistress must have offered her something really good. That woman is really trying to steal everyone."

Maelis crossed her arms, looking annoyed.

"This is getting ridiculous. First, my big brother, now Cassandra? Are we just going to lose all our best people?"

"Well, Cassandra is incredibly talented. If Clementine's Headmistress managed to recruit her, that means she's serious about building a monster team for the competition." Selina smirked, though there was a hint of concern in her eyes.

"But… why wouldn't she at least tell us? We were in the same year…" Claire looked worried, fidgeting with her hands.

"She must have her reasons." Lira remained silent for a moment before speaking in her usual flat tone.

Ronan dramatically threw his hands up.

"This academy is falling apart! First Gray, now Cassandra… Who's next? Me?!"

"This can't be a coincidence. Both of them left right after the semester ended… so, Clementine's Headmistress must have made them offers they couldn't refuse." Adrian shook his head.

"Well... if she's going to Clementine's academy too… then we'll probably face her in the competition as well," Lyra's eyes narrowed slighly.

The air instantly felt cold at Lyra's words.

She was telling the truth, and yet, it only made it worse for them.

"I had already thought that just Gray would be hard to deal with... but now, we're including Cassandra, too?"

Selene clicked her tongue in complete annoyance.

Of course, she too wanted to go with Gray, but he had convinced her to stay here and promised to visit her, so she wouldn't go against his wishes.

For now, at least.

"Hahh..." Leon sighed deeply.

He stood up, grabbed his tray, and headed out of there. The group stared at him, confused, but quickly ignored his actions.

"He's been in a weird mood lately," Maelis shook her head.

"Probably still salty about Gray leaving. Those two never really got along anyway," Selina shrugged.

The conversation slowly drifted back to lighter topics, upcoming training schedules, rumors about the inter-academy competition, and complaints about the cafeteria food, when a sudden commotion erupted near the entrance.

Whispers spread like wildfire through the cafeteria.

"It's them!"

"The new first-years!"

"Look, that's Kairos with the Phoenix Flame!"

The group turned their heads just in time to see three students walking straight toward their table with a clear purpose.

The first was a tall, fiery-haired young man, Kairos, radiating a powerful aura even at a distance, clearly at the Peak of the Master Realm.

Beside him walked Garrick, a muscular brute with a wild grin, his presence purely physical and intimidating.

And walking slightly ahead of them was a girl with silver-grey hair and sharp, piercing eyes... Elara.

The trio stopped right in front of the table, catching everyone by surprise.

Before anyone could speak, Elara's gaze swept across the group and locked onto them. She frowned deeply, as her expression turned both cold and direct.

"Where's Gray Vireux?"

The table fell into stunned silence.

Everyone was instantly confused.

Lyra's emerald eyes narrowed dangerously, a surge of killing intent almost flaring up around her before she barely held it back.

Ronan, being the most clueless and straightforward, tilted his head and answered casually.

"He quit the academy… why?"

At those words, Elara's face contorted in complete shock.

"…What?"